English Period Research Articles

Discourse-Pragmatic Conservatism in Early Modern English Religious Prose: A Residue of Old English Narrative Style?

ABSTRACT: The language of religion is typically characterized as conservative, as evidenced by the use of archaic forms and expressions. However, studies of religious prose during the Early Modern English period (1500–1700) have revealed great variation between genres and challenged this general view. Instead of morphosyntactic and lexical features, this paper focuses on another kind of linguistic conservatism, which could be called discourse-pragmatic conservatism. During the Middle English period (1100–1500), the ways of signaling narrative structure changed, which may reflect typological shifts in construing narratives and/or changes in stylistic trends associated with developments from a predominantly oral to a more literate tradition. The most notable of these developments concerned the move from more explicit signaling of the main storyline, involving reliance on discourse markers, to a less frequent, but more varied, use of discourse connectives. By investigating the markers of narrative structure in a selection of Early Modern English religious narratives, I aim to test the hypothesis that the impression of religious prose as conservative is, at least to some extent, based on the texts’ deployment of discourse-pragmatic features.

“To telle yow [. . .] whiche they weren, and of what degree”: Direct Characterization across the Centuries

abstract: This contribution studies how characterization—the way in which characters are presented to readers—has changed between the Late Middle English period and the twenty-first century. Investigating a small sample of texts from four different periods, I compare the type of information that is provided about the protagonists of the texts when they are first introduced to the reader. The study is situated within the field of pragmatics of fiction and it presents a method with which characterization can be compared systematically across different texts, even diachronically. The results of the study show that there have been marked changes over time with respect to which categories of character information are mentioned explicitly, but also about how certain categories are used. These shifts reflect socio-cultural changes, for instance with respect to the role of the family for individual identity. The results demonstrate that studying characterization diachronically can reveal insight about the links between linguistic style, literary conventions, and broader social and cultural developments that shape literary texts.

Prevalence and risk of malnutrition in patients with chronic pancreatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

To systematize data on the prevalence and risk of malnutrition in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP). MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Google Scholar, Scopus, and the Russian Science Citation Index were searched for studies published between January 1, 1985, and October 23, 2024 (inclusive) based on an analysis of the titles and abstracts of articles in these databases. The study included relevant publications in peer-reviewed periodicals in English or Russian, publications with data on the prevalence of malnutrition in patients with CP and control subjects (if any), studies on adult patients with CP, and publications with detailed descriptive statistics that allow using the data in the meta-analysis. The final analysis included 13 studies involving 3,812 subjects (3,401 patients with CP and 411 controls). The overall prevalence of malnutrition in patients with CP was 43.43% (95% confidence interval [CI] 32.419-54.780), whereas in controls, it was 10.843% (95% CI 1.360-27.698). When analyzing the association in the overall pool of studies, a significant risk of malnutrition in CP patients compared to controls was shown (relative risk [RR] 3.635, 95% CI 1.409-9.373; p=0.008). The analysis used a random effect model, as there was high heterogeneity between the groups (I2=88.09%, 95% CI 74.76-94.38). A review of studies that used only validated instrumental methods for the diagnosis of malnutrition (criteria of the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition) showed a total prevalence of malnutrition of 38.348% (95% CI 14.975-65.047) in patients with CP and 12.22% (95% CI 5.985-67.238) in control subjects. This meta-analysis demonstrated that malnutrition is a common complication of CP and occurs in approximately 40% of CP patients. A modern clinician should promptly assess malnutrition markers in a CP patient and correct them using enzyme replacement therapy if detected.

Shaping Quill and Ink: To What Extent Can ‘Translation Act’ Affect The History Of English Literature?

This study aims to analyse the function and role of the 'translation act' in shaping English literature from the 5th to the 15th century, specifically from the point of its effect on the development of English literature drawing upon Stephen Greenblatt’s New Historicism. This period encompasses the Old English period (c. 5th century - 1066) and the Middle English period (1066 - late 15th century). Through an analysis of the act of translation within this time span, this study seeks to determine the extent to which translation has influenced and shaped the foundations of literature, particularly English literature—an esteemed body of work recognised for its rich and diverse canon and its significant global influence. This influence stems not only from the expansive reach of the British Empire but also from the incorporation of diverse voices from writers across the world, contributing to the perception of literature written in English as a vital component of English literary tradition. By utilizing Greenblatt’s New Historicism, which views literature as a product of its historical context, and by treating the ‘translation act’ as the basis of historical context herein in this paper, the rich interplay between this act and the beginnings of the history of English literature is expected to be revealed in this study, with an emphasis on how the 'translation act' interacts with the evolution of English literature.

From Neologisms to Idioms: Tracing Literary Innovation in the Evolution of the English Lexicon

This study examines the interaction between literature and the development of the English lexicon, emphasizing the processes by which literary works produce neologisms and idiomatic terms. The project utilizes a[1] mixed-methods approach, integrating corpus-based analysis with historical investigation, to examine texts from the Old and Middle English periods to modern digital storytelling. The study examines processes including compounding, blending, borrowing, and semantic alterations to demonstrate how authors have consistently impacted language innovation, mirroring and affecting cultural and societal changes. The findings indicate that literary innovation functions as both a reflection and a stimulus for lexical transformation, with historical texts establishing the foundation for contemporary language practices. The incorporation of digital literature underscores the dynamic evolution of vocabulary formation in reaction to globalization and technological progress. This thorough investigation enhances comprehension of literature's transformational role in promoting lexical innovation, providing significant insights for linguistic theory and practical applications in language education and lexicography.

Nurse retention in peri- and post-COVID-19 work environments: a scoping review of factors, strategies and interventions

ObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the deterioration of nurses’ working conditions and a growing global nursing shortage. Little is known about the factors, strategies and interventions that could improve nurse retention...

FROM INSTRUCTION MANUALS TO ENTERTAINING EPISTOLARY NOVELS: LETTERS IN BOTH GENRES FROM THE 17 TH TO THE 19TH CENTURIES

This study presents an analysis of salutations and subscriptions in letters across genres in the Late Modern English period. The paper compares letter-writing manuals addressed to women and three epistolary novels (Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister, Evelina, Lady Susan) written by women, namely Aphra Behn, Frances Burney and Jane Austen, dating from the end of the seventeenth century to the nineteenth century. The aim is to observe the evolution of the formulae to start and conclude letters along the centuries under analysis in both genres and to establish a comparison between them. The results show that more similarities than differences are found between the two genres, and that changes displayed in the formulae used through history in the manuals seem to be present also in the novels. The conclusion suggests that the novelists must have been familiar with the instruction provided in the manuals but, despite the linguistic similarities observed, the letters in the novels created a narrative that went beyond such instruction.

Factors for Using Media: The Content Analysis of Articles Based on “Uses ＆ Gratifications” Theory in English Periodicals (1981-2020)

<p>「使用與滿足」理論強調閱聽人使用媒體的主動性，獲得諸多研究的引用。本研究蒐集1981-2020年發表的英文期刊文章共120篇並進行內容分析，以探究二問題：「使用媒體的因素」、「文章探討的媒體及其使用者」。問題一分析顯示，1981-1996年及1997-2020年此二年段論文中，達統計顯著差異的因素包括一大類因素、以及分屬不同大類之七個細項因素。問題二結果顯示，此二年段論文中的媒體種類及使用者世代，亦達統計顯著差異。整體而言，新興世代如Y及Z世代著重媒體的操作性、展現性、連結性；跨世代使用媒體的穩定不變因素，則在於獲得資訊、娛樂、與互動交流。最後，本研究對後續研究如資料蒐集及方法等提出建議。</p> <p> </p><p>The “uses and gratifications” theory emphasizes audience initiative and activeness for the use of media, which has been widely cited. This study collected 120 articles published in English periodicals from 1981 to 2020 for a content analysis to explore two questions: “factors for using media”, and “media and users investigated”. The findings for question 1 show that several factors, including a main factor and 7 sub-factors among different main factors reached statistically significant differences between articles published between 1981-1996 and 1997-2020. The results for question 2 show that the types of media and the generations of users in sample articles also reached statistically significant differences. Overall, for the new generations, such as Generation Y and Z, the media attributes of operation, expressiveness, and connection matter the most. The unchanged factors for using media across generations are obtaining information, entertainment, and interaction. Finally, this study provides suggestions about the data, methods, etc. for further research.</p> <p> </p>

AUXILIARY DO IN PERIPHRASTIC CONSTRUCTIONS IN EARLY MODERN ENGLISH

The paper delves into the syntactic changes that occurred during the Early Modern English period, focusing specifically on the mandatory use of the auxiliary verb do in various sentence types, including interrogative, negative, and imperative constructions when no other auxiliary is present. This study is directed towards the process of grammaticalization across various sentence types in Early Modern English, wherein do gradually transitioned from a lexical verb to a crucial auxiliary verb integral to the sentence structure. The analysis highlights both internal linguistic factors and the social factors that played a crucial role in this transformation. The study assumes that the emergence of do as an obligatory auxiliary was not solely a result of gradual linguistic evolution; rather, it was intricately tied to the social context of the time. The sociolinguistic research discusses how social variables like age and gender influence the language variation and change. The grammaticalization is explored within the broader context of the language change, where internal pressures interacted with external social influences to propel the shift toward the Present-Day English syntactic system. The paper provides insights into how both linguistic structure and social forces can interact in shaping the development of grammatical norms in a language over time.

In search of the beginnings of a foodsemic boom in the history of English

Food unquestionably plays a vital role in our lives, as it is essential for our day-to-day existence. It is multifacetedly mirrored in the way we picture the world and communicate with one another. Frequently, food names are deployed metaphorically/metonymically to conceptualize either human beings themselves and/or various aspects and features of their existence. Sometimes, such metaphors are analysed from a synchronic perspective, for example by Martsa (2001, 2013) and Kövecses (2002) and they are perceived as a means of communication. However, food metaphors may be analysed from a diachronic perspective and, as shown by Kleparski (2008, 2012), Kudła (2009, 2016), and Kowalczyk (2015, 2017) among others, in the history of English, food metaphors are traceable in various historically distant periods, and abound especially in most recent periods of the history of English when there are high levels of foodsemic figurative extensions. As shown by Kowalczyk (2024), between the years 1800-1950, there were over 130 cases of food-related metaphor. These numbers stand in sharp contrast to the humble beginnings of food metaphor in Old English and the Early Modern English period. The aim of this paper is to specify the period of intensification and heightened productivity of this phenomenon. The 16th century will be highlighted as the time of a true foodsemic boom that sparked off the process of blooming of this metaphorical mechanism. In the late Middle English period, which spans the 14th and 15th century, only a handful of food-related metaphors are registered and supported by historical lexicographic sources. By contrast, during the course of the 16th century, there were around two dozen food-related cases of metaphorization.

The French Influence on Modern English Orthography A Historical and Linguistic Analysis

Orthography is a critical component of the English language and serves as a repository for its linguistic and cultural heritage. The evolution of English orthography can be traced through three major stages: Old English, Middle English, and Modern English, each reflecting the socio-political circumstances of its time. Written records from the Old and Middle English periods reveal that the complexity of English spelling arises from the disconnection between spoken and written forms. This paper aims to explore the contributions of the French language to modern English orthography, offering a historical overview of the linguistic interplay between the two languages. It specifically investigates how the French language influenced modern English spelling through phonological, lexical, and orthographic changes. The findings demonstrate that historical events, particularly the Norman Conquest, had profound impacts on the linguistic evolution of English, shaping its orthographic system. This study underscores the significance of historical and sociopolitical contexts in understanding the development of English spelling and highlights the enduring influence of French on modern English orthography.

Dalit Muslims of Barak Valley: A Socio-Historical Study

This article is an attempt to examine the historical background of Dalit Muslim communities in the Barak Valley of southern Assam in the context of Dalit Muslims in India. The Marathi word ‘Dalit’ (broken) has been widely used in the intellectual discourses to mean the oppressed class of people among the Hindus—the untouchables and low castes. It was the outcome of age-old social inequality and discrimination prevalent in the Indian subcontinent that a large segment of the population was being pushed to the outer edge of human society. They were destined to live a life of semi-human beings. Following from this, the word ‘Dalit Muslim’ is quite new in the academic and political discourses and strongly resented by the orthodox Muslims. Theoretically, Islam does not recognize any social distinctions based on race, ethnicity, occupation and, of course, caste. However, empirical studies including censuses since the British period confirm the presence of severe social inequality and discrimination among Indian Muslims similar to the Hindu caste system. The origin of Dalit Muslims was associated with the historical expansion of Islam in India following the conversion of millions of low castes and Dalits to Islam in order to escape social discrimination. But their conversion to Islam did not mitigate caste; rather, they were simply added to the new social organization with similar class and status. They continued to pursue their hereditary occupation, being considered demeaning by their ashraf co-religionists, and branded them with derogatory terms such as ajlaf, razil, kamin, itr, arzal, or lowborn. They were treated the most contumely without having the slightest regard for the Islamic principle of social equality by the upper caste Muslims due to their association with the demeaning occupations. Therefore, they were destined to live apart from the mainstream social life and reduced to the extent of outcastes or Dalit as compared to the Hindu caste organization. This article examines the socio-historical background of different Dalit Muslim communities in the Barak Valley of southern Assam.

A diachronic approach to the functional transposition of ALONG and ALONGSIDE in the English language

The paper investigates the evolution of the prepositions and adverbs ALONG and ALONGSIDE as subjects to the process of functional transposition. The research investigates the formation of ALONG as an adverb during the Middle English period and its functional transposition into the category of the preposition in late Middle English. The correlation between the initial and transposed categories has stabilized, and they are more or less equally represented in Present-Day English. ALONGSIDE appeared as an adverb at the end of Early Modern English; in Late Modern English, it was transposed into a preposition, which is almost suppressing the initial category of an adverb in Present-Day English.

Endings -s and -st in the 2nd Person Singular Present Indicative in Old English

Abstract The replacement of the ending -s with -st in the 2nd person singular present indicative is an often-discussed diachronic development in Old English. Whereas most accounts center on the origins of -st, the present study focuses on the competition between the two endings throughout the Old English period. The current examination of the witnesses dating between the ninth and eleventh centuries shows that the -s- and -st-forms did not contrast on the phonological and morphological features generally cited in the analyses of this change. The adjacency of the pronominal subject did not affect the choice of the inflection either. Instead, initially the -s-forms occurred in the SV and VS environments whereas the -st-forms were restricted to the SV environments. This distribution explains why the verbs ending in -stu, which appeared only in the VS environments, could not have triggered the change of -s to -st. As the ending -st spread to the VS environment as well, the ending -s was confined to the VS environments where it survived into the twelfth century.

Present Indicative in Late Medieval Warwickshire: A Case Study of National Library of Wales, Brogyntyn ii.1 in Comparison with other Sources

Abstract National Library of Wales Brogyntyn ii.1 is a fifteenth-century miscellany including texts in Middle English, which is localisable in the Warwickshire area. The manuscript was copied by around ten scribes who produced a wide range of endings for the third person singular and plural forms of the present indicative. This paper seeks to systematise and analyse these forms with the aim of identifying the reasons for the different usages of verbal endings of the English written in Warwickshire at the end of the Middle English period. Apart from the two main types (‘‑th’ type and ‘‑s’ type) which have been widely investigated for different periods of the history of English, the data include two more types, one of which contains minority forms that have frequently been ignored in most works on the verb endings. Each scribe’s production is tackled from different angles, including the phonological and the syntactic and prosodic environments of the occurrences. In addition to the information extracted from the Brogyntyn manuscript, data from different sources in text corpora (LALME, LAEME, MEG‑C and MELD) have been collected for comparison with the results obtained in the main analysis. The main findings of this research indicate that the variety of forms used in Warwickshire literary manuscripts in the fifteenth century are not linked to any sort of linguistic constraints but to the linguistic past of that area and are most likely connected to textual transmission. The non-literary sources contemporary with the Brogyntyn manuscript share only some of these less common endings, implying a smoothing out of variation in the possible inflections during the fifteenth century.

On the history of ephemeral conditional subordinators: Evidence from the Penn Parsed Corpora of Historical English

This article discusses the history of a selection of ephemeral adverbial subordinators (Kortmann 1997, 301), i.e., those that mainly originated in the Early Modern English period (16th -17th centuries) but whose subordinating function, however, either became obsolete rather quickly or was subject to further restrictions beyond this period. This phenomenon was particularly frequent in the CCC relations, these are: causality, conditionality and concessivity. The present article analyses a selected number ephemeral conditional subordinators and compares them with the prototypical conditional subordinator if. The methodology is corpus-based, and I examine the data in the Penn Parsed Corpora of Historical English. The examples discussed reveal that ephemeral conditional subordinators are scarce and serve as a clear illustration of the concept of ephemerality in the realm of adverbial subordinators.

Changes in Language Learners’ Affect: A Complex Dynamic Systems Theory Perspective

AbstractThis study investigated changes in motivation, self‐efficacy beliefs, and a range of emotions, including enjoyment, hope, pride, curiosity, anxiety, boredom, apathy, confusion, and shame, from a complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) perspective over a 2‐year period in the Hungarian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. Using the same questionnaire, we collected data four times throughout 4 semesters from 101 participants studying English in two Hungarian high schools. For data analysis, we used latent growth curve modeling (LGCM) to detect the group‐level changes in learners’ motivation, self‐efficacy, and emotions. We also employed dynamic cluster analysis to identify trends in learners’ trajectories regarding these variables. In our panel data, linear models described the data well concerning the ought‐to second language (L2) self, language learning experience, boredom, apathy, and confusion, and for enjoyment, curiosity, anxiety, and shame, nonlinear models had the best fit. We could also identify trajectories depicting attractor states and learner paths that featured influences of perturbations.

Formation and Sustainability in Historical Squares: An Analysis on The Example of Nicosia Historical Urban Texture

Squares, which are social meeting and community areas of societies, have shaped important public open spaces of settlements. Located in historical urban textures, such spaces are also a source reflecting the history of the city with the artefacts from their formation processes. The squares acquired their identity through surrounding formations from different periods in the history of Cyprus and have come to the present day with their active lives. Sarayönü, Selimiye and ?nönü squares in the walled city of Nicosia have developed from their first formation during the Lusignan period of the island up until Venetian, Ottoman, British, Republic of Cyprus. The historical squares, which completed their development relatively during the British period, have been damaged by multi-storey reinforced concrete buildings, which are controversial and incompatible with traditional architecture, added to their textures because of inadequacies in protection, especially after the mid-1970s, and their historical textures have lost their sustainability. This study aims to analyse the historical squares in Nicosia, which have been formed over a period of more than eight hundred years with cultural heritage works from different civilisations, and to reveal the damage caused to their identities by incompatible buildings added to their textures and the importance of sustainability in historical textures with protection. Keywords: Square, sustainability, texture, Nicosia, historical

Marital Status, Ethnicity, and Cardiovascular Health: A Systematic Literature Review

Objective: The association between marital status and health has long been recognized albeit not without controversy. While substantial empirical research provides evidence that being married confers health benefits, there is evidence that heterogeneity exists in these benefits based on sociodemographic factors, including race/ethnicity, gender, and income. Given continued disparities in a range of health outcomes, there is a need to identify and better understand variations in the health advantage of being married versus unmarried (i.e., never-married, married, widowed, separated, or divorced). In this systematic literature review, we aimed to examine racial/ethnic variations in the purported protective role played by marital status with regard to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and CVD outcomes. The review focused on studies that included population groups highly vulnerable to poor cardiovascular health. Design: We conducted a search of MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, and lists of relevant articles published during a five-year period in English. Databases were searched using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms and other appropriate keywords related to marital status, race/ethnicity, and CVD risk factors and outcomes. Four reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts and abstracted data from full-text articles. Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Results: The search yielded 4,577 titles, and 18 studies were included in this review. Studies showed mixed findings on the relationship between marital status, race/ethnicity, and CVD risk factors. With regard to CVD outcomes, most studies reported findings that suggest being married may serve as a protective factor across race/ethnic categories. Conclusion: Some cardiovascular risk factors and disease outcomes vary by the intersection of marital status and race/ethnicity. Differences in the relationship between marital status, race/ethnicity, and cardiovascular health need to be examined further in future research. These differences should be considered in the development of interventions aimed at addressing health disparities.

The United States Role of the Occurrence of Violence in Cyprus

Cyprus used to be under occupation of the foreign states for many centuries and sovereignty usually with few exceptions was not transferred peacefully. As it is well known, in the 19th century, use of force in international relations was seen as normal. In the 1878 however, transformation of sovereignty in Cyprus from the Ottoman Empire to the United Kingdom (UK) was by peaceful means. The UK ruled Cyprus mostly in peace until the uprising in 1931. The upheaval of the Greek Cypriots against the UK was to unite Cyprus with Greece (Enosis). The uprising was settled by violence and the constitutional rights suspended immediately. In 1955 when the riot of the Greek Cypriots occurred again this time the UK was successful to get support of Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriots and converted the anti-colonial struggle to the ethnic strife. Clearly, the occurrence of violence in Cyprus in 20th Century begun during the British period but it continued after the colonial period. Although the United States (US) refrained direct involvement to Cyprus problem it assisted to the formation of the Republic of Cyprus by 1960s. During the Cold War conditions, the US had to involve to the Cyprus problem because of two reasons: Firstly, in order to prevent a war between Türkiye and Greece, the two “motherlands” of the Turkish and Greek Cypriots; secondly to stop the violence between two local communities. In Washington DC the US leadership met with Greek and Turkish prime ministers in 1964 and they decided to solve the Cyprus problem forever. In Geneva the US representative had several meetings with the officials of Greece and Türkiye. There, the US former secretary of state offered his plan that included the use of violence for the dissolution of the Republic of Cyprus. The US plan could not be implemented at the time but after 10 years, its spirit became the source of the violence in Cyprus. In this study mainly the role of the US in occurrence of violence in the island will be studied.